2024-03-13 06:01:05
The liquefied natural gas tanker “Rudolf Samoylovich”, under the Panamanian flag, at the Montoir-de-Bretagne LNG terminal, in the port of Nantes-Saint-Nazaire, March 10, 2022. LOIC VENANCE / AFP
“The separation of MethaneSAT is confirmed. » On March 5, in the middle of the afternoon, the placement in orbit of a satellite the size of a washing machine was announced live, after it broke away from a SpaceX launcher. Developed by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a non-profit organization, this device must identify methane emissions from oil and gas sites that other satellites do not detect.
“MethaneSAT’s superpower lies in its ability to accurately measure methane levels, with high resolution, over large areas, including smaller, diffuse sources”, explained Steven Hamburg, the scientific manager of EDF. From 2025, the data collected should be made public.
Will this new “eye” launched into space help reduce methane emissions from fossil fuel activities? According to new edition of the International Energy Agency report (IEA) on the subject, published Wednesday March 13, emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas currently remain at “a level far too high” to achieve climate goals.
Ten countries responsible for two-thirds of global emissions
In 2023, the production and use of fossil fuels generated around 120 million tonnes of methane emissions, a slight increase compared to 2022 and close to the record level of 2019. The use of biomass, and notably of wood for cooking, is the source of 10 million additional tonnes.
According to the IEA report, the “Global Methane Tracker 2024”, ten countries are responsible for two-thirds of global emissions (80 million tonnes). The leading producer of oil and gas, the United States is the country that emits the most methane linked to oil and gas operations, ahead of Russia. China is, by far, the largest emitter of coal-related methane.
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Spectacularly, the document also reveals a 50% increase, compared to 2022, in cases of massive methane leaks. In Kazakhstan in particular, an explosion in early June 2023, followed by a fire on an oil and gas field, caused a leak that remained active for more than two hundred days, and is considered one of the largest in history. The authors of the IEA report specify that this increase can be explained by a greater number of major leaks, and not by an improvement in detection.
“Methane is responsible for around 30% of the increase in global temperatures since the industrial revolution and the energy sector is the second largest source of emissions from human activities, recalls Christophe McGlade, head of the IEA’s energy supply unit. The case for reducing these emissions is incredibly strong. »
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